Ivoren reliëf met de Kruisiging before 1857

This is a small ivory relief depicting the crucifixion scene. The central motif, Christ on the cross, is flanked by other figures; a tableau imbued with centuries of cultural and religious meaning. Consider the cross itself, predating Christianity, a symbol of intersection and cosmic order. It reappears in countless forms across cultures—the Egyptian ankh, the wheel of the Dharma. Here, it is transformed, laden with the weight of sacrifice and redemption. The emotional intensity of this scene—Christ’s suffering, the grief of those who witness—taps into deep wells of collective memory and shared human experience. We see echoes of this pathos in depictions of mourning from ancient Greece to the present day; the slumped shoulders, the downturned gaze, the quiet suffering. Symbols like the cross evolve and resurface, transformed yet resonant, revealing our enduring need to grapple with suffering and find meaning in the face of mortality.